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Friday, January 16, 2009

Lady of the Stars - Linda Banche

Please welcome my special guest this week, TWRP author Linda Banche, whose debut novel, Lady of the Stars, was released last week!

Linda is giving away a pdf copy of her book to one lucky person who leaves a comment!

Linda, over to you!

Hi Christina. Thanks for having me.

Can you tell us a little about your book Lady of the Stars?

Lady of the Stars is a Regency time travel novella. Here’s the blurb:

A legend spanning time and the man and woman caught in it.Caroline knows something is wrong the instant she steps into that unusual gazebo with two doors. But when a man she thought forever gone appears outside, she flings caution aside and plunges through the back door, crashing into the man--and 1817.

A voyage through time? Impossible. Richard refuses to believe the strange woman's outlandish tale. Still, the lady is lost and alone, and he helps the stranded wayfarer.But as attraction flares between these two lonely people, Richard's family legend grinds to its ultimate fulfillment--will it bring them together, or tear them apart forever?

Culture shock abounds on both sides, and provides some of the humor in the story. Someone who read my blurb asked if Caroline already knows Richard. Does she? How could she? And what’s this legend? I can’t tell more without giving the entire story away, but I have an excerpt on my website.

How did the idea for the plot come about?

In 2007, The Wild Rose Press ran a time travel contest called Through the Garden Gate. The heroine walks through a garden gate into the past. Frankly, I never considered writing a time travel, but they promised a free critique from A Real Editor. So I wrote Lady of the Stars.

I'm not quite sure how the rest of the story came about. I've always liked astronomy and I found a picture of an antique telescope, like the one pictured on the cover. Although astronomy figures in the book, the title Lady of the Stars does not refer to astronomy.

One thing I do like is a funny story. Although the overall tone is serious, Lady of the Stars does contain comedy, such as when Caroline and Richard first meet—she literally runs into him. Then there’s the condom joke. But I’m not going to tell you what it is!

I love sale stories (ok I am just nosy!!) so can you tell us about your road to publication - and your call story?

I lost the contest. In hindsight, of course I lost. I didn’t even know what POV was. But the editor said she would consider publishing the story if I made some changes. By then I had found out what POV was, and I fixed those errors, rewrote the whole story, and resubmitted. I resubmitted twice. And the second time, they accepted it. My first contract!

We are all about the love here, so please share your fave books, movies, TV shows or current fantasy squeeze (it's all in the line of research!)

I don’t know if I really have any. Besides the fact that I like blond heroes, maybe because my husband's hair is light, I can't think of what I use for inspiration. My stories come out of my warped imagination. I’ve read tons of Regencies, and I’ve come across some of the same themes so often, I wanted something different. I take these hackneyed Regency standbys and twist them slightly. For example, one of the standard Regency characters is the rich, handsome, powerful nobleman hero. Not that I will never write such a hero, but Richard, the hero in Lady of the Stars, is a poor teacher. Of course he’s handsome—all romance is part fantasy. And he will be rewarded, besides getting the heroine, which is reward in itself.

What are you working on now?

I have a Regency Halloween comedy, Pumpkinnapper, also under contract at The Wild Rose Press. While Lady of the Stars has its humorous moments, Pumpkinnapper is funny from the start, what with that title, then the incidents in the story. Here’s the one line blurb:

Like everyone else on the planet, I have a website, two blogs, myspace, facebook and goodreads. On my website I have excerpts of both my books.

Also, I’m part of the Wild Rose Press Winter Sony eReader Giveaway contest. Anyone who buys a copy of Lady of the Stars from The Wild Rose Presswebsite from January 11 through March 17, 2009 has a chance to win a Sony eReader.

I'll give away a PDF copy of Lady of the Stars to one of the people who comment on this post.

Hi Eva, I always knew there were lots of us Regency fans out there. Thanks for the kind words.

angietheresa, I would go back to Regency London. I would love to go to one of those fancy balls I've always read about, where everyone is dressed to the nines in silks and satins. And see one of those gorgeous men in tight breeches and ruffled shirts. Maybe I could bring one back with me--no, no, just kidding, I have a husband.**grins**

Hi Helen, nice to see you here, and thanks again for having me on your blog last Monday.

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